Main menu

The view from Austin as F1 arrives at Circuit of the Americas for U.S. Grand Prix

November 13, 2012

Austin and the Circuit of the Americas are hoping to see a positive chapter this weekend in what has been a roller-coaster journey. Photo by Circuit of the Americas

Here in Austin, Texas, it's hard not to know that the United States Formula One Grand Prix has arrived at Circuit of the Americas. For the past two and a half years, most Austinites, more concerned about the rat race than race cars, have met F1 with indifference—and perhaps a mild dose of curiosity.

Of course, there are fans with a fierce enthusiasm for Grand Prix racing who can't believe the good fortune that it has landed in their backyard at COTA.

And there are critics, of course, who say state money should not go to a private endeavor that fosters an image of wealth and has no place in this “weird” town.

Signs saying “Welcome Race Fans!” hang from light posts downtown, and billboards for race-related festivities are cropping up. Buses with McLaren-Mercedes drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are on the streets. Local TV news coverage has picked up. Conversations about F1 can be heard in restaurants, bars and even hair salons.

But there are still plenty of things we don't know.

Will the 3.4-mile circuit featuring an apparently good mix of elevation change and different types of turns—some reminiscent of famous corners found at other tracks around the world—produce an exciting race?

Perhaps just as big of a question for on-site fans: How bad will traffic be, and can the city handle it? How long will it take to get into and out of the circuit?

Will Austin put on a good a show the way it does for its signature music festivals—South by Southwest and ACL Fest?

Those answers will be obvious by the end of Sunday's race, and will go a long way to determining whether or not fans enjoyed their experience and are willing to shell out money next year to experience it all again.

But the biggest question is how long F1 will stay. Will we still talk about Austin, the U.S. and F1 in the present tense years from now?

As always, people say having an American team or driver would help boost the sport in the U.S., and I certainly agree with that. But it also needs a home in the U.S., an opportunity for people to see a Grand Prix—and bring their friends and family.

F1 might never reach the level of popularity in the U.S. that it has around the world. Football, basketball, baseball and NASCAR are entrenched too firmly in American hearts and minds. But as I've seen here in my hometown, indifference has turned into awareness, and new fans have been created before anyone has turned a single lap in anger.

Watkins Glen hosted Grands Prix from 1961-1980. Indianapolis Motor Speedway most recently hosted the series from 2000-2007. If Circuit of the Americas can match or even better those runs, F1 will have succeeded here.

But first it has to succeed this weekend. We'll know more about that next Monday. I can't wait.

Editor's note: David Doolittle is an editor who covers motorsports at the Austin-American Statesman newspaper.